Whether you liked Obama or not you had to respect him. Folks know we need changes, they are ready for real ideas. They are not ready for a BS ballet. With all these "nuances" and "clarifications" his respect is going by the wayside like a used condom.

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Why are people so surprised? All along B.O. has talked about fairy land "bipartisanship." You only attempt to reach that by shooting straight down the middle. And then you end up pleasing nobody and pissing off EVERYBODY.

The scarier problem is, today's "center" is still far right. Mainstream Dems are GOP lite. The right wing is fascist. Therefore, todays "center" is midway between moderate Republican and fascist.

This is why we need someone who is NOT afraid to be partisan, someone who will keep repeating and repeating and repeating progressive ideals until they become common thought, i.e., normalized. We need someone who has the guts to stand firm on progressive principles and reframe things so that these positions seem like plain old common sense.. Constant repetition and reframing is how the GOP took the country gradually gradually rightward rightward rightward over 30 years.

It's way past time to yank it back! Even if we only successfully yank to what center was before Bush II--that would place us in the ideological zone of Clinton I--it would FEEL far left compared to what we have grown used to waking up to each day.

I tried to tell everyone around me. They all insisted on following Obama's pretty flute music, and condescending anyone who heard some bitter notes in there. Sigh.

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"Slip sliding away; slip sliding away; the closer your destination the more things keep sliding away." -- Paul Simon.

Right smack in the middle, at the core so to speak, are the same old shysters, corrupt ones, wheelers and dealers and misguided thiefs, liars and all around hucksters that are steering this country (very pragmatically and efficiently one might add) into the realms of madness. The World, the Whole World and Nothing but the World, so help me God! And by any means necessary. Inside and Outside the "Homeland". And to that Obama gravitates; by any means necessary.

A neo-fascist Police State need not exist at any particular time or place; but, indeed, it has to be ready; and 'security' and 'preparedness' sure does. We're already there. In a "bi-partisan" way of course.

At the "extremes" alarm bells are sounding, it's hectic and noisy and voluminous. But at the Core is a sound-proof Wall where this 'middlesome' bunch of thugs happily goes on. Right smack in the middle.

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Just when everyone thought Obama was a patriotic leftist politician he changed course and has taken on the appearance of an imitation faith-based-initiatives religious man of the right; the rhetoric has turned out to be empty and as thin as his silhouette. Unless this is some astute move (but really a tactically fatal act to gather middle-class highly pliable swing-voters who would fall prey to Swift Boat tactics anyway and meat for McCain strategists), congratulations to Obama who is now hedging on all his past positions. Will he continue Bush’s brand of global messianic militarism in a new style in order to do what’s best for America?

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Typical insecure Democrat. They'll say and do anything in a desperate attempt to fit in.

This article is giving me flashbacks of high school...Maybe Obama should get his tongue pierced...or paint his hair purple...or get a really cool car.

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I watched him speak 18 April at Independence Hall, I said, "Oh, he's tired I suppose", I kept trying to reassure myself, I was there alone so nobody else I was speaking to at the moment. I needed definitive answers, re; war, troop withdrawal, FISA, Impeachment, the F$$KING Constitution and Bill of Rights and habeas[habeas wasn't decided at thet date] so I still didn't know. I wouldn't vote for Hillary because of the "obliterate Iran" remark. I couldn't vote GHASP Republican, never have, Nader was an Economist not a President, Nader is an advocate, not a President. McKinney, I don't like her at all. Barbara Lee now that's a different story, I'd vote for her, I trust her. I heard the FISA lie and I said here it comes...Refining Iraq, WTF is that supposed to mean?
Beginning to go back to what I was going to do in the 1st place, _________.
Dennis Kucinich, don't care what anyone tries to use to console themselves with, Dennis Kucinich is going on that line with my #2 pencil. Call it a wasted vote? It isn't if everyone did the same thing, only honest politician. Walking, Talking oxymoron.

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In a five hour fit of anger and frustration, I dug up the names and contact information on the "Democratic" House & Senator traitors who voted to approve the latest version of the "Compromise FISA bill" -- which destroys our Fourth Amendment.  I put the two lists up on the Net as websites and will now go about "promoting" them.  Ideally, with your help, we could bring these sites to the attention of enough people to develop a viral network that could then gain critical mass among voters to remove these traitors.

Here are the sites: 

For House "Representatives": http://www.cloudbyte.com/traitors.html
For "Senators": http://www.cloudbyte.com/senatetraitors.html

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The one dumb move the neo-right was praying for Obama so made. He just anounced a move to pander to the right wing religious. I just gave 50 more bucks to him. I feel like I was duped. Thanks alot Obama, it was nice for a while.

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in 1996 over this running to the right crap that the Democrats ALWAYS DO.

And yes Arianna is right about this run to the right, it is why the Democrats lose major elections.

No party can win without an activist base to pound the streets for them in the months leading up to the election. But the Democrats have been driving the left leaning social justice activist base out of the Party since the early 1990's in a concerted effort to instead pander for the votes of a Jim Crow white right-wing that hates all things liberal/left/progressive/moderate.

Why I, a social justice, civil liberties, human rights loving American, refuse to vote for Obama and McCain:
Traitors:Bush, Walters, McCain & Obama

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I deplore some of the recent tacking to the center by Obama. His praise for the awful gun decision, or his criticism of a rare case the Court got right, when it overturned a death sentence for a nonlethal crime. But when you say moving to the center doesnt work, I beg to differ. Bill Clinton preached welfare reform and, during the 92 campaign, flew back to Little Rock to sign a death warrant for a mentally disabled inmate. He is the only Dem since FDR to win twice. You say Gore's centrism didn't work, but he got more votes than the other guy did, and he had an albatross not of his making in the Lewinsky mess. Walter Mondale said he'd raise taxes and got clobbered. Dukakis was pilloried as "too liberal."

There is a common notion among the left that Dems would win lots more elections if they were just more outspokenly left-wing. I have seen absolutely no evidence to support that premise, and Ralph Nader's abysmal showings suggest otherwise. Candidates run to the center because this is a centrist nation -- and on issues like crime and welfare, a dumb, mean and nasty little nation.

To coin a phrase, you go into a presidential election with the electorate you've got. I'd rather see more truth-speaking. I'd rather see the real leadership Americans need, starting with a call for making the rich pay their share for once, and a quick end to fossil fuels. But when you state that tacking to the center is for losers, history just doesnt support that claim. If you toss out 1976 as a post-Watergate fluke, the ONLY Dem to win in 44 years was DLC member, middle-hugging Bill Clinton.

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Let me just say to begin with that anyone who thinks that RealPolitik isn't RealStupidPoltik to begin with is RealStupid. RealPolitik leads exactly and precisely to where Sen Obama has found himself - in a land where he has no clear supporters, no clear constituency. He's trying to build a new one and it won't work.

Why has no one noticed that Obama has reversed his position on late term abortions, saying on July 3rd that he wouldn't support them except in cases when a woman's physical health was in jeopardy and not when her mental health was in jeopardy, as if physical and mental health can actually be divided anyway?

I can't believe how little people seem to care about this issue and about the meaning of this serious reversal. He lost me completely on this one.

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Obama is not the hero we need to fix health care or the mess in Iraq. He is against uniting all Americans into one protective, nondiscriminatory health coverage pool, and will bring all but 50-80,000 of our troops out of Iraq "unless the situation on the ground changes". He says nulclear power, corn-based ethanol and coal are clean alternatives. Sigh.

He talks a (really, truly) great talk but his walk is as crooked as the next.

"Better Than McSame" and Supreme Court are two good reasons to vote for him, but mark my words: Obama will break real progressives' hearts.

PS- I also knew when Bush was appointed President that we'd be in a deep recession if we had to endure his PSBW (Parallel Simultaneous Backwards World) economic policies. I made this prediction to everyone who would listen. Obama also definitely will be better (not nearly as good as he could be) for the economy than more of the same.

We've never needed another FDR more than we need one now, and Obama is not even close.

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.... hit the nail on the head. I for one don't want a bipartisan love fest with the Republican extreme right-wing (i.e. the vast majority of Republicans in the federal government today).

They are war criminals, corporate criminals, liars, thieves and Fascist Plutocrats. I don't want a candidate who is willing to have a dialog with these evil fucks, I want to see them run out of town on a rail at best and some of them in jail, where they belong.

Please, Senator Obama, listen to the brilliant Ms. Huffington and don't sell us out. You may well be our last hope for salvaging what's left of our Democracy and beginning to rebuild what we've lost.

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Obama is just trying to avoid assassination, and after all, he is the star of the Chicago political machine which really knows how to elect its own. I hope he wins, just to see what he will and will not do. Meanwhile, the federal government plunges toward bankruptcy and the nation towards another big Depression. If so, it might put Obama in a similar position as FDR in the 1930s. Hmmmmm. Now there's an intriguing scenario !!

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Do you think Kucinich would have done what Obama is doing? America, you voted and this is what you get when you swallow the line that someone is unelectable. I guess when you repeat the word change enough it convinces people in this country that you will get change. If you are marginalized by your party, ignored during the debates and treated as if you were some sort of a nutcase or sideshow by the likes of Letterman, Stewart and Colbert, Americans will all agree that you do not have a chance. For the past two elections, Democrats have failed you. I remember the fake enthusiasm of '04 when Kerry was the man and people went to Michael Moore rallies smiling when they were really grinding their teeth knowing they were doomed to four more years of Bush. I hate to say it, but the same poor souls who are driving around today with the Kerry/Edwards bumper stickers will be driving around with Obama '08 stickers six years from now, wondering what went wrong. And yes, it would be the same thing if it were Hillary. I have voted for Kucinich twice and I am glad to have done so. I do not believe in a wasted vote. What I do not believe in is a country where your choices are Coke and Pepsi. So what is it going to be America, will you be having Coke or Pepsi for the next four years?

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I consider myself an independent and an Obama supporter because he is our best hope for change in general. The Republicans in the white house and in Congress have made such a mess of this country's economy, the environment, our credibility among other nations, the country's military lack of readiness, and have highlighted the federal government's inability to deal with crisis at home.

Amazingly, there still has yet to be a comprehensive, independent, adequately funded investigation of the attacks on 9-11-2001. The "official" report was underfunded - $6 million compared to $40 million spent on "Whitewater" - is full of holes and improbabilities - doesn't even address Building 7 and approached the project with the conclusions already accepted as "truth". (google "9-11 truth" and do some homework) The attacks of 9-11 resulted in our loss of our basic freedoms, a fear filled citizenry who vote for someone they perceive will prevent other attacks, and a never ending (unjustified) "War on Terror" (anywhere in the world including here at home) which is bankrupting our treasury, spilling the blood of tens of thousands of innocent people, and making us far less safe than before 9-11 because everyone else in the world sees the error of our ways and become sympathetic to the extremists willing to fight the big global bully - that is us!

People, wake up! Our government is in shambles! What ever happened to the Constitution? What ever happened to the rule of law? This administration (including John McCain) is in essence pissing on these precious concepts which have made our country great to begin with! Where's Congress in all of this? Aren't they supposed to check the power of the executive branch to prevent these atrocities from happening in the first place? Or are they complicit?

Instead of complaining that Obama is only a perfectly fallible politician who is moving to the right in order to win the general election which may be a mistake (he will make mistakes in the future too), let's focus on the bigger picture. Let's fix this government and vote for folks who will turn this around - including your representatives in Congress. Let's educate ourselves about the Constitution and what we Americans should expect from our government as stated in the Constitution/ Bill of Rights and the laws of the land. Let's hold our politicians accountable and let them know that they will NOT get away with murder, lies, and/or treasonous acts. For this country's sake - whether Democrat, Republican or Independent - whether Black, White, Asian, Hispanic or whatever - whether male or female - whether blue collar or well educated elite - let's get the politicians out of office who are complicit in the destruction of this great country before it's too late! Let's get people in there who represent us and not BIG MONEY! Let's get people in there who will deal with the big problems (and they are HUGE) like global warming, energy independence, health care, and getting our people back to work.

Just who are we Americans? Are we really more interested in what someone's preacher says or if someone wears an American Flag lapel pin? Here's something you can and should be afraid of - losing the basic precepts of what our country is and stands for - who WE are as Americans. Once we've lost our core identity (and we're very close indeed), we will lose the basic freedoms we hold so dear (and take for granted) like freedom of speech, freedom to assemble, freedom to bear arms (to defend ourselves against a tyrannical government - God forbid!), the freedom to bar someone from entering our houses without consent, the right to a trial by jury, etc. www.consource.org/index.asp?bid=574

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Liberals, Conservatives.....Democrats, Republicans....don't you all know by now that it's ONE BIG PARTY with two different names? You are all fooled to think you have two choices when in fact you have none! Liberty and freedom, traits which separate this country from the rest of the world, are slowly being eroded and have been exacerbated since the 70s, regardless of who was in charge.

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'cause neither have any real agenda for change. Democratic leadership and most elected officials are part of the status quo, and hence we haven't had any progressive changes since 2006 election.

To expect anything better from Obama is to live in a fool's paradise.

As I posted elsewhere, Obama isn't even pretending to be liberal. Lately, he has been revising or 'refining' his positions over all major issues, including Iraq.

So who expects that Obama is the agent of change?

FISA position before:
"To be clear: Barack will support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies."
-- Obama spokesman Bill Burton, Oct. 24, 2007

FISA position today:
Obama now says he'll vote in favor of the new FISA bill that gives the telecom companies blanket immunity for post-Sept. 11 eavesdropping.

NAFTA position before:
Obama thoroughly trashed the North American Free Trade Agreement, pledging to force a renegotiation, take "the hammer" to Canada and Mexico and threaten unilateral abrogation.

NAFTA position today:
Obama calls his previous NAFTA rhetoric "overheated" and essentially endorses what one of his senior economic advisers privately told the Canadians: The anti-trade stuff was nothing more than populist posturing

Public financing of elections position before:
Obama pledged to stick to public financing.

Position today:
Obama has opted out of public financing of elections.

On Iran, his position was meetings without preconditions. Today he claims to have "preparations", which according to his aides are functional equivalent of preconditions.

On SCOTUS ruling on 2nd amendment:
In November, the Chicago Tribune quoted the Obama campaign as saying, “Obama believes the D.C. handgun law is constitutional.”

On Thursday, the Obama campaign told ABC that the statement was “inartful” and does not fully explain Obama’s “consistent position.”

As of Thursaday he has started to move away from his earlier position of 16 month combat troop removal from Iraq.
And now he says that his "original position" on withdrawal has always been that "we've got to make sure that our troops are safe and that Iraq is stable." And that "when I go to Iraq . . . I'll have more information and will continue to refine my policies."

So even on Iraq his flip has began. By the time he comes back from his Iraq tour, the 16-month timetable will be out the window.

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[Yawn] Time to feed the Sheeple. Here sheeple, sheeple sheeple. LOL

JT
Is your ISP watching?

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Was ask these questions a few months ago. You all got suckered, so blatantly and willingly it was a sad disaster in slow motion. And if there was a "biggest unquestioning cheerleader" then Alternet was the one. That's why you don't believe words, but look at action. And if there are no actions to look at, perhaps you're making a hasty decision. This guy is going to be eaten alive, all because of his political ties, lack of experience, and big mouth. And the country will continue to be ravished to feed the wealthy, and the entire world will suffer. Faith and hope don't re-allocate resources, nor regulate business conglomerates. And Alternet will pretend they knew it would happen all along, and never really liked Obama, and put a lot more links to TMZ up so you forget about the whole thing during McCain's Iran debacle.

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"And isn't galvanizing the electorate to demand fundamental change the raison d'etre of the Obama campaign in the first place?"

What "fundamental change"?

Obama is the DC version of Denzel Washington with talking points provided by ruling class paymasters that bankrolled his campaign. By voting record, performance or any other measure that means anything Obama is a Stepford actor playing his part for the usual suspects.

Obama may be somewhat "better" than troglodyte McCain but the difference is far more charisma and flash than it is substance.

At the end of the day, the same corporate crime Fascists will be pulling the strings on Obama or McCain whichever one of them "wins".

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We accede to the wholesale slaughter of Iraqi children so that we might get the oil to prolong our distinctiv